Judith Krug, Defender of Intellectual Freedom, Dies at 69

Judith Krug, head of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom and founder of Banned Books Week, died April 11 at Evanston Hospital, outside of Chicago, following a yearlong battle with stomach cancer. She was 69.

Judith Krug dies at 69.

Krug, who often said, “Censorship dies in the light of day,” was involved in multiple First Amendment cases that reached the United States Supreme Court and was a leader in educating the public about the right to free expression of ideas. She spent more than 40 years at the helm of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom and was executive director of the Freedom to Read Foundation, established to promote and defend the freedom of speech and of the press.

Banned Books Week, which celebrates intellectual freedom, has been observed since 1982 by librarians around the country during the last week of September.

“Judith Krug inspired librarians and educated government officials and others about everyone’s inviolable right to read. Her leadership in defense of the First Amendment was always principled and unwavering. Judith’s courage, intelligence, humor, and passion will be much missed—but her spirit will inspire us always," says a joint statement by Jim Rettig, ALA’s president and Keith Michael Fiels, ALA’s executive director.

Often in the face of great personal criticism, Krug never wavered in her defense of the First Amendment, whether testifying before Congress, leading legal challenges to unconstitutional laws, or intervening hundreds of times to support and advise librarians in their efforts to keep particular books.

“Judy was an inspiration to all who knew her,” says a statement released by the Freedom to Read Foundation. “During a time in our nation’s history when an individual’s rights to access information are constantly under attack, she worked to ensure the public’s right to know through traditional means, as well as through the Internet.

Born in Pittsburgh, Krug graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and received a master’s degree from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. She received many awards during her career, including the Joseph P. Lippincott Award, the Irita Van Doren Award, and the Harry Kalven Freedom of Expression Award.

Krug also received an honorary doctorate, Doctor of Humane Letters, from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 2005.

Earlier this year, she received the William J. Brennan Jr. Award from the Thomas Jefferson Center for Free Expression for her “remarkable commitment to the marriage of open books and open minds.” Krug was only the fifth person since 1993 to receive the award, which recognizes a person or group that demonstrates a commitment to the principles of free expression followed by the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

In July, the Freedom to Read Foundation planned to give her an award for her years of “vision and leadership.”

"YALSA was very saddened to learn that Judith Krug, founder and Executive Director of ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom, lost her battle with cancer this weekend," says Beth Yoke, exectuive director of the Young Adult Library Services Association.  She was a courageous defender of our intellectual freedom rights, and YALSA owes her a special debt for all that she did to ensure that teens in particular are ensured access to a wide variety of library materials.  YALSA members and librarians can honor her legacy by working in their own communities to protect the Constitutional rights of citizens to free expression that are granted under the First Amendment."

She is survived by her husband, Herbert, and her children Steven Krug and Michelle Litchman, and five grandchildren. She is also survived by her brothers Jay Fingeret and Arnold Fingeret of Pittsburgh, and her sister and brother-in-law, Shirley and Howard Katzman of Miami.

Services will be held at Beth Emet Synagogue, 1224 Dempster St., Evanston IL, on Tuesday April 14 at 10 a.m., followed by internment at Shalom Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Freedom to Read Foundation, 50 East Huron St., Chicago IL 60611.